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Saturday, April 26, 2014

The Best Android Launcher

A few months ago I did an introduction to launchers on Android, and I said I would continue to experiment and see which one I liked the best. A quick synopsis of the post if you haven't seen it or don't care to read it: Launchers are basically changing the user interface, or the look of the home screen and apps, for your phone. Many people like to stick out and have a more functional set-up at the same time. My friend showed me Themer two weeks ago, and it is the best launcher I have ever tested because of its customizing abilities for the home screen and the app tray.

Themer, though still in its Beta stages, is the most easily customizable launcher I have ever seen before. You can go into their them store, find one you like, and hit apply. On other launchers, you often have to go and download separate files in order to apply a new them. Themer, as AndroidPit.com backs up, is the easiest launcher to change. This ease is nice, especially for those who get bored when things stay the same. I have changed my launcher probably 7 times since I downloaded it, and it makes my phone seem almost brand new. I get a whole new user interface that I get to learn how to navigate, which keeps my mind sharp as I can't mindlessly flip through my phone like I have the bad tendency of doing. Even if you often stay with the same thing for months on end, it is still nice to have so many options as opposed to being locked into one user interface for the life of your phone. Also with Themer, not only can you change the general design, you can change the size and placement of the icons as well. You can make them smaller or larger unlike what you can usually do on stock launchers. This is nice because if you're someone with a lot of apps that they use on a daily basis, you can access all of your apps really easily without having to flip through several pages to get there by decreasing the icon size and fitting a lot of them on a single page.

The second reason Themer is my favorite launcher of all time is because the app tray is very customizable. Most people wouldn't think much of this feature, because its not a big focal point of design, an app tray's and app tray right? That's what I used to think, then I decreased the size of my apps in the tray. Like many phone users, I had a lot of apps, and to decrease the size made it infinitely easier to scroll to whatever app I needed without having to deal with folders cluttering up my home screens. I can also change the transparency of the background and the color of the text, which again is not something you would say you really want all that much until you get to experience it. Life of Android calls Themer a "hands-down winner", plus, you get the benefit of a lot of people asking you how you managed to do that!

I have tested out a lot of launchers for Android in the last 6 months, and I have had things I have liked and disliked about each. With Themer, I honestly cannot say that I do not like anything, because everything I have on it can be customized just how I want it, and I love it that way. The ability to make your phone truly how you want it is a privilege that the user hasn't been able to fully experience, and I thank Themer with all the heart of my nerdy side.